


Nico in a Dress

by Erikthonius



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians - Rick Riordan
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Crossdressing, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-27 00:13:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21788056
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Erikthonius/pseuds/Erikthonius
Summary: As the title says
Relationships: Mitchell/Connor Stoll, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace
Comments: 3
Kudos: 86





	Nico in a Dress

It started with the nail polish. He’d actually started doing it at Kayla’s suggestion. She told him it was a good way to break his nail-biting habit. When Will first noticed, he said said, “Wow, death-boy, that’s hot!” Naturally those magic words guaranteed that black nail polish was a permanent part of his wardrobe.

Mitchell came by his cabin one afternoon to hang out just as he was applying a fresh coat and the son of Aphrodite was quite impressed.

“Hey, gurrlfriend, nice technique with the brush. It always looks so good, I thought you might be having one of my sisters do it for you.”

Nico waved his hands a little to help the polish dry. “No, I’ve been doing it myself for a while now.”

Mitchell got a look. Especially after dating a Stoll brother for so long, that was not a good sign. “You wait right here. I’ll be right back.” He darted out of the Hades cabin. Before Nico had time to worry about what this mad son of Aphrodite had in mind, he’d come back with his sister Lacy in tow. She had a small bag in her free hand.

“What?” Nico only got out one word.

“So, I was wondering,” Mitchell said in that wheedling tone. It never failed with Connor, but then, that was Connor. Nico hoped he was made of stronger stuff, but Mitchell could be very persuasive at times. “Have you ever thought of a little make-up?” 

Nico flinched. He knew that Mitchell used make-up. He was very subtle about it, but he was also a child of Aphrodite. Everybody knew that the whole cabin except Piper used make-up. In fact, if it weren’t for that goddess's children, Sephora might go out of business. The fact that he, the Ghost King, even knew what Sephora was told him that maybe he was spending too much time with Mitchell. He tried to let that thought harden his resolve.

“Please, Nico.” Lacy joined in the wheedling. He was fond of her. She projected this air of innocence, but he knew that there was a lot under the surface. She was frequently Cecil’s partner in crime, especially now that Lou Ellen was busy with being head counsellor for the Hecate cabin, an unruly bunch at the best of times, and Will was busy with, well Nico himself.

“We just want to do a tiny bit of eyeliner. Your eyes are so pretty, we just want to bring them out.”

Okay, Nico was not expecting that one. His eyes? Those bleary bits of shattered glass peering out from puffy bags? The reason he avoided looking in mirrors for more than a few seconds? He didn’t really need to shave that much yet, and he just brushed his hair enough to keep it from tangling. (Mitchell fussed over it like he fussed over everyone’s grooming habits, and Will, well, Will would stroke his hair for hours if he could, so it did get some attention.) But his eyes? He always figured that no-one (other than his moony boyfriend) would want to look into the eyes of the son of Hades anyway.

At last Mitchell grabbed him by the hand and pulled him into the bathroom, Lacy trailing behind, still clutching that bag of hers.

“Okay, Nico, I know that look. You’re not going to go into one of your ‘I’m so ugly, why would anyone want to look at me’ moods. I know you shy away from them, but just look in the mirror for more than three seconds.”

Knowing that when Mitchell got like this, there’d be no peace until he did it, Nico looked at himself in the mirror. He was a little astonished at what looked back at him. He knew that he’d lost the gaunt look; months of Will’s nagging ministrations had put a little fullness back into his face. He was still pale, but no longer pallid. The biggest surprise, though, was his eyes. The bags had indeed receded, and the color had come back into his irises. His eyes were still a little bloodshot (still not the best sleeping habits), but they were the bright brown he remembered from Bianca’s eyes.

Mitchell noticed the emotions crossing his friend’s face and decided to step in before the melancholy overtook him.

“See,” he purred. “Lacy here is an artist with the eyeliner.” He pulled out the big guns. “Let her show you how to do a little magic, and a certain blond healer won’t know what hit him.”

Okay, Nico was sold.

She made him sit on a stool and tilted her head, examining him from different angles. She pulled a tube out of her bag and promptly discarded it. “No mascara,” she muttered. “Mother, why do you always give boys the best lashes?” Then she settled on a slim pencil.

“Let’s keep it simple for now. When you get better at it, we can go for a more elaborate look, but to start, I think you’ll just want to highlight the shape. You have the classic touch of an almond shape; let’s just go with that.”

That afternoon, Nico walked into the infirmary just as Will was applying burn cream to Jake Mason’s shoulder. Jake thought Will’s awestruck reaction to Nico’s appearance was so funny, he didn’t mind having to clean burn cream out of his ear. Needless to say, the son of Hades pulled Lacy aside after the next day’s sword class to ask her for lessons.

He reserved the use of eyeliner for special occasions (one does not bring a weapon of such power to everyday skirmishes), but through the years, he got a little more daring in his use of it.

And that was why, several years later, Nico ran into Alex Fierro at the Sephora in the Prudential Center in downtown Boston.

“Hey, Nico. What’ve you got there? Nice!”

“Hey, Alex. Yeah, Will likes it when I ‘pretty up’ for him once in a while.”

“I know what you mean. Well, I’m just laying in supplies for…” He trailed off. (By now, Nico was good at picking up Alex’s pronouns without prompting).

Nico was amused by the way that Alex would still not say that he or she, depending, liked to primp expressly for Magnus sometimes.

Alex looked him up and down. He got that look. Nico knew that look. He’d seen it on Alex, he’d seen it on Mitchell, he’d seen it on Cecil. Gods help him, he’d seen it on Lacy. He didn’t feel like wasting time fighting it. He just let Alex pull him by the hand (after he’d finished his purchase) and drag him up Newbury Street toward Chase Place.

When they arrived, Alex pulled him into Mitchell’s office. “Mitchell, I think it’s time for our friend here to try a little drag.”

Mitchell jumped up in glee. “Alex Fierro, you are a genius!”

Nico sighed. He knew he didn’t stand a chance against those two when they got going. He was pushed and prodded. Garments were brought in from Alex’s rooms. Connor was called and told to pick up various items and bring them to Chase Space. Nico’s cheeks were rouged and his lips were painted. (He was allowed to do his own eyes. Still no mascara. Lacy still pouted about Nico’s long lashes.) 

When he was finally allowed to see himself in a full-length mirror, he was rather impressed by what he saw. They’d mostly kept his black palette intact, but they’d found ways to add discreet splashes of color. Some dark fishnets brought out the shape of his legs, and the short skirt highlighted his ass nicely. They’d found a blouse that gave him the appearance of just a touch of cleavage without being tasteless. The light rouge brought out his cheekbones, and they’d fixed his hair (which was getting a little long at this point) to frame his face in a way that softened his jawline.

The finishing touch was a pair of half boots with heels. Nico appreciated the increase in height as well as his years of combat training that gave him the balance that the heels required.

Alex had to get back to Hotel Valhalla, but Mitchell decided to come along when Nico headed for the apartment in Cambridge that he and Will shared. He didn’t want to miss Solace’s reaction. It was worth it indeed.

Will greeted them at the door. “Hey Mitch. Who’s your frie...HOLY HIPPOCRATES!! Nico?”

Mitchell giggled at the look on the healer’s face. Nico was kind of enjoying it as well. In a way he couldn’t explain, being dressed and made up like this gave him a strange sense of power.

“Hey there, big boy,” he said to Will in a flirty voice. He stroked his boyfriend’s cheek with a finger.

Will was turning the color of the strawberries they used to pick together. He leaned forward to kiss Nico. 

“So, Will Solace finally gets to kiss a girl,” Mitchell said in a teasing voice.

This cracked all three of them up. Then Will said, “I got an IM from Lou Ellen this morning after you left. She’s up in Salem. It’s some kind of thing for one of the women in her dad’s coven, and she asked if we wanted to meet up there tonight for a bite. She didn’t know that you (indicating Mitchell) and Connor had moved to Boston, so I told her I was bringing friends. I thought it would be fun to surprise her.”

“Sure,” Mitchell said. “I told him we were coming over here, so he should be here soon.”

“Nico, babe,” Will asked, “would you want to keep this outfit on? I think she’d get a kick out of it.”

Nico was enjoying the moment, so he readily agreed. Connor drove them up to Salem. Nico couldn’t drive; he didn’t trust himself in heels. Will wasn’t fit to drive; he didn’t want to take his eyes off his boyfriend to watch the road. And Mitchell was too busy fussing over Nico’s outfit.

When they got there, the coven’s party was in full swing. Mr. Blackstone greeted them with a wave. Lou Ellen called out to Will and the others and came toward them. She seemed just a trifle unsteady. Obviously the party had been going full tilt for a while. She called out to Will, Connor, and Mitchell, but her eyes were on Nico. It was clear that she didn’t recognize him, but she moved toward him eagerly.

“Will, introduce me to your new friend,” she said, her voice a little slurred. “Never mind. Hi there, you pretty thing.”

Nico was enjoying this chance to prank his friend, so he responded in a light whisper so that she wouldn’t recognize his voice. “And who might you be?”

“I’m Lou Ellen, and I can show you a better time than these boys.” She leaned in close. 

Nico started to play along, but when she got too handsy and tried to kiss him, he jumped back toward the other boys in a panic and said in his own low, full voice, “Merda, Lou Ellen, it’s me!”

Lou Ellen’s eyes got wide in surprise and then narrowed in anger when she saw Connor and Mitchell collapsing onto each other with laughter. “You little shites!” She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small chalky ball which she raised over her head, preparing to throw it.

Will recognized what she was about to do and put his fingers to his lips. The short whistle he gave wasn’t intense enough to stun her, but it caused her to drop the ball onto her own head where it shattered into white dust. She vanished into her own clothing. 

Nico snatched up the small creature that emerged from the pile of skirts. He also picked up the clothing.

“I’d better take care of this or she’s going to kill us when she recovers.” He ducked into a shadow.

He emerged from a shadow in front of a small shop on Mission Hill in San Francisco and went inside. He took note of the pronoun sticker by the cash register and called out, “Jazz! Hey, man, I need your help.”

The tall man who came out from behind one of the shelves called out, “Hey Nico. Nice dress, dude. Where did you get the hamster?”


End file.
